Giving and Receiving Compliments

Is your workplace Thank You inspired — or is it tired?
It’s critical for managers and company leaders to thank employees for excellent performance, and do it effectively. Believe it or not, there is a wrong way to thank someone!
You may be making all-too-common workplace Thank You mistakes and not even know it. Many Thank You “rules” we learn — like the “compliment sandwich” — are actually ineffective and send the wrong message.
The way you share your workplace Thank You isn’t just good for employee engagement, happiness, motivation and productivity. It benefits the whole team, including you.
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Find Nice Things to Say to Employees — It’s Worth It

No surprise we love the idea of “Say Something Nice Day,” which is coming up next Friday, June 1. But there’s one surefire way to improve on it in your workplace: Find nice things to say to employees every day — and use Say Something Nice Day as an annual reminder to recommit to that goal.
Research has found that workplaces cultures improve when managers take the time to look for nice things to say to employees. One Gallup study reported that regular verbal recognition and praise results in employees who are: (more…)

Conventional wisdom suggests sharing workplace “Thank You’s” as close to possible to the act that you are thanking colleagues for. But that’s not always possible, especially in a busy workplace.
Another approach is to use a traditional holiday like Thanksgiving, a year-end celebration or an annual event such as National Thank You Month in January as a prescribed time and opportunity to show gratitude to your hard-working team. (more…)

Happy New Year! Is thanking employees more frequently on your management team’s list of resolutions?
How about a “Thank You training”? Make it a company resolution this year to train managers in the art of thanking employees!
January is National Thank You Month. This year, do more than resolve to thank people more. It’s time to recognize that showing appreciation isn’t just a nice-to-have soft skill but integral to successfully managing a team. (more…)

Workplace gratitude spreads through small, everyday acts of kindness. Spread workplace gratitude in your place of work June 1 to celebrate Say Something Nice Day! It’s an easy opportunity to take time to engage with staff and share your appreciation.
Saying something nice to employees (and doing it well) isn’t a squishy soft skill without hard benefits. It’s a critical aspect of leadership and business success.
Even a quick look at recent headlines shows that civility, positivity and gratitude are sorely lacking in the workplace today.
“Does HR Have a ‘Humanity’ Problem?” — that was the question an HR Dive headline posed earlier this week. It was prompted in part by the BackChannel essay, “Human Resources Isn’t About Humans.” (more…)

Building Workplace Positivity

Workplace positivity grows through appreciation and, specifically, great compliments. Start practicing today, World Compliment Day, to get ready for Employee Appreciation Day later this week.
Held annually on March 1, World Compliment Day has its origins in the Netherlands.
World Compliment Day is not commercially oriented, “so everyone can afford to participate,” according to a history at WorldComplimentDay.info. It “simply addresses the basic human need for recognition and appreciation. … And therein lies its power.”
Hans Poortvliet, a Dutch recognition professional and the driving force behind the annual event in the Netherlands, points out that compliments cost nothing but have a huge impact. (more…)

In a memorial tribute to Mary Tyler Moore this week, Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik recalls an iconic example of a workplace Thank You on her show in the 1970s.
The brief speech Moore gives to her newsroom coworkers during the show finale, in character as the “groundbreaking, professional, working-woman” Mary Richards, still resonates with Zurawik.
After asking her boss if she can say a few words, she tells the assembled employees:
“I get to thinking my job is too important to me. And I tell myself that the people I work with are just the people I work with, and not my family.
“And last night I thought, ‘What is a family anyway?’ They’re just people who make you feel less alone and really loved. And that’s what you’ve done for me. Thank you for being my family.” (more…)

Springtime is time for spring cleaning! So why not start with your assessing and re-energizing your employee recognition efforts with a revitalized thank you program?

As warm weather and brighter days approach, it is the perfect time to invest in your company culture, inspire workers, and reiterate your company values. And guess what? You can accomplish that and more with a strong employee appreciation program!

Read on for easy and effective ideas we’ve collected for outdoor, seasonal, and values-based employee recognition activities. Start building the everyday culture of appreciation you want, and plan for brighter days ahead!

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Motivating your team couldn’t be simpler — just thank your employees for their efforts and they’ll feel more valued. When employees know you’re grateful for their efforts, they work harder and productivity improves. It’s really remarkably easy.

Say thank you and employees work harder

Just consider the results of this recent Glassdoor survey. As Huffington Post writer Chad Brooks discovered in “Appreciation Motivates Employees To Work Harder, Study Says,” the study shows:

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